Most returning undergraduates will no longer be able to book King’s-provided accomodation from 2026/27 – unless pre-approved for its affordable housing or disability schemes – as updated eligibility rules and deadlines tighten access to its portal.
Following changes to booking access rules, most other returning students will likely have to seek accommodation in the private rental market. In a post on Instagram, King’s Residences confirmed that only pre-approved renters will have access to its accommodation portal.
The announcement reflects King’s updated accommodation Policy. Whilst the policy has long prioritised first-years, it has now been revised to change how applicants who do not meet the Accommodation Guarantee access the booking system, moving from an emailed invitation system to access being granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Who gets a room?
King’s accommodation policy guarantees accommodation only to new first-year undergraduates, care-experienced or estranged students, and those that are under 18 on move-in day.
This exemption, however, requires booking by midnight on 3 June 2026, which had passed at time of publication. New postgraduate students face a later deadline, with accommodation applications remaining open until 31 July.
Even for those who qualify, the process is highly time-sensitive. Once a student submits their registration form, their “Active Registration” lasts just two weeks. If that window is missed, the Accommodation Guarantee no longer applies.
One first-year international student at King’s, who asked to remain anonymous, told Roar:
I’m annoyed that the fact I wasn’t able to stay in accomodation in my second year was made much more clear. I’m an international student and I spent a lot of time during term time focusing on societies and my studies. Because I now need to have private accommodation, I need to fly back to the UK to sort out accommodation which is expensive and annoying.
Students with outstanding debts or Licence Agreements terminated due to misconduct may be blocked from the portal altogether, resulting in no room next year.
A King’s spokesperson told Roar, “In the license agreement, any outstanding debt needs to be resolved before students can access the accommodation portal, and misconduct cases are reviewed on an individual basis.”
Disability and affordable housing: the exceptions
Returning students can access the booking portal only if approved under the restrictive King’s Affordable Accomodation (KAAS) and Accomodation Disability Provision (ADP) schemes.
KAAS was initially introduced in 2014 after lobbying from KCLSU. First rolled out for the 15/16 academic year, the threshold is a fixed household income of £42,875 per annum; a threshold that has not risen in over a decade.
In the 2027/28 academic year, the cap on KAAS rents will rise from £169 per week to £173. This would be its first rise since its introduction as rents have remained unchanged for ten years, regardless of the rate of inflation.
Rooms are available at eight residences and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Six residences, including City, Vauxhall, and Canada Water, are excluded from the scheme entirely.
For ADP applicants, the deadline to submit supporting documentation was 3 June, meaning students with disabilities or other health concerns who have missed this deadline have no guarantee of a room.
Students approved following a one-to-one staff assessment will have their fees adjusted to the lowest standard single-room rate in their allocated residence, but this is only where the condition meets the policy’s definition of disability.
The alternative: private renting
For most returning students, the alternative is London’s private rental market. In March, Roar’s analysis found King’s non-KAAS median weekly rent has already hit £357 for 2026/27, which was a 5% rise on last year, and above CPI inflation for 2025 (3.8%). Across a standard 40-week contract, that exceeds the maximum maintenance loan of £14,135.
With King’s median weekly rent of £357 already exceeding both LSE (£300) and UCL (£320), students pushed into the private market will struggle to find any affordable accomodation.
King’s Residences have directed students toward the University of London property database and accredited letting agents – which often have significantly higher fees than university-provided accomodation.
A King’s College London spokesperson said: “Unfortunately we’re not able to provide accommodation for all 40,000 of our students and our policy has not changed for 2026/7 so it is inaccurate to suggest so. As per previous years, we guarantee King’s-provided accommodation for all new undergraduate and postgraduate students and prioritise returning students who are care-experienced or estranged from their caregivers.
“Undergraduate students eligible for King’s-provided accommodation, including those with specific health needs or disabilities, are required to book by the UCAS deadline on the 3rd of June, with a later date for new postgraduate students. For returning students or those seeking alternative arrangements, King’s works with a range of partners to offer flexibility, choice, and competitive costs in the UK’s capital.”
Asked to clarify their claim that the reporting was inaccurate, King’s reiterated that its accommodation policy has not changed for 2026/27 and that returning students have never been guaranteed accommodation.
It did not comment on the specific updates to Clause 5.2 of the Residences Accommodation Policy, which alters how non-guaranteed applicants access the booking portal.
Students can contact King’s Residences at . The full Accommodation Policy is available on the KCL Policy Hub. Housing advice for students entering the private sector is available via KCLSU and the University of London Housing Advice pages.
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